The changing faces of the Toowoomba Regional Council

The changing faces of the Toowoomba Regional Council

Tom has been with News Regional Media since 2013, having worked in newsrooms across south-west Queensland. Prior to his appointment at The Chronicle, he was the editor of the Western Star in Roma for 18 months. Growing up in Brisbane, he studied journalism at Queensland University of Technology. Away from work, he is happily in a relationship with his partner Sarah and enjoys playing music with his band in Toowoomba and supporting the Brisbane Broncos.

THE next Toowoomba Regional Council will be younger and more gender-diverse than previous iterations, as the expectant councillors wait to be sworn in.

With the vast majority of the counting now completed by the Electoral Commission of Queensland, Rebecca Vonhoff, Melissa Taylor, Kerry Shine and Tim McMahon are all almost certain to join seven incumbents from the previous term.

This means there will be five female councillors, more than the 2016 elected body and on par with the 2012 version.

Moreover, five of the councillors are under 50 years of age, while three (Dr Vonhoff, Mr McMahon and Cr James O'Shea) are under 40.

Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of the region's population were aged under 50 and more than half (51.4 per cent) were female, based on census figures from 2016.

New councillor Ms Taylor said she was felt the next council was a closer reflection of the community it represented, demographically speaking.

"Diversity in age and gender diversity are important for a good representation of a community," she said.

"We can see the benefits it has had on our business (Taylor's Removals) and the boards that I've been on (to have diversity).

"I think that it gives a good perspective and matches the needs of our community.

"I'm actually really pleased with the make-up of council. The previous councillors bring experience and wisdom, but you've then got some really vibrant new people.

"The combination of those two elements is really important right now."

Ms Taylor said she was keen to be sworn in so the new council vote on what are expected to be a series of stimulus packages to support small businesses and ratepayers during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

"We need to support our community and that will be our first priority after we swear in," she said.

"We really need to get going on this, the community deserves and wants leadership right now.

"It's really unfortunate that this changeover has occurred during COVID-19, but we need to move as swiftly as possible."